Fewer venture to Star Castle with police watching

Adam Crisp

Monday

Jun 25, 2007 at 6:53 AM

Again Saturday, plainclothes police officers stood by waiting for adolescents to pour out of the Star Castle Family Amusement Center on Mall Boulevard and cause trouble as they had done a week earlier.

But it didn't happen.

The scene at 10 p.m. Saturday was tempered drastically compared to the week before, when officers took eight of at least 200 unruly juveniles into custody after they darted in front of vehicles, argued with police and fought each other in the street. Patrons said the crowd this past Saturday night inside the roller-skating rink, laser tag room and arcade was a fraction of its usual size.

One parent said children stayed away because parents were concerned about last week's arrests.

Long-term solution

Police said the scene outside the Star Castle a week ago is more common and it poses a real danger. Officers will be back, and the department is focused on finding a long-term solution that involves parents and business owners.

Police Capt. Richard Zapal, commander of the Southside Precinct, said about 20 officers were ready for anything Saturday. The strength of force was needed to control the juveniles because an accident was very likely, he said.

"I don't want some crazy guy coming through there and trying to hit someone in the street," Zapal said.

Some of the youngsters typically gather in the four-lane roadway that borders Oglethorpe Mall and block traffic, daring motorists to try to hit them, Zapal said.

Most business managers in the area won't talk about the apparent disturbance, but nearby residents say at least one fast-food franchise has started closing early to deter potential trouble.

Fred Foley, the owner of C&F Auto Repair, said tour buses and teens routinely block the driveway to his business. Star Castle owners have said they have worked out a solution to Foley's complaints.

Although the crowd was not nearly as large this past Saturday, Zapal said his officers would be back on future weekends. However, he said Star Castle owners James Siskin and Rudolph Bairas should somehow find a way to control the youngsters once the business closes.

"The guy provides security for his business inside, and he controls them there," Zapal said. "I'm not saying it's his fault. But if (the Star Castle) wasn't there, these kids wouldn't be either."

Not all are bad

Those juveniles the police label unruly are the exception. Most of the patrons are well-behaved, parents said.

Linda Hall said she drops her teenage boys off nearly every weekend and picks them up before 9:30 p.m.

Saturday night, she took them early and picked them up early to avoid any potential closing-time problems.

"The kids who cause the problems are the ones whose parents don't watch after them," Hall said. "They leave them at the mall early in the day. And then, after the place closes, they are left to just wander wherever."

Zapal said those unsupervised youngsters are just the ones his officers are after.

Shaquita Bolden, whose 16-year-old son was arrested last week, said police should be careful about painting all the Star Castle teens with the same brush. She said her son was charged with aggravated battery after he jumped into a fight to stop his 13-year-old sister from being attacked along Mall Boulevard.

"He was there with his cousin to pick his sister up," Bolden said. "He's a good boy. He's never been in trouble with the police, and he's a good student. He hasn't been to Star Castle in four years, and now he's caught up in this."

Bolden said the uproar that surrounds the Star Castle smacks of racism, since many of the customers are black youths from different parts of town.

"Not all the children are bad. The police have kind of stereotyped them," Bolden said. "Chief Berkow told us that they had noticed the same group of young men outside the Star Castle for a long time.

"Well, why didn't they arrest these kids if they are watching them? It's not right to wait until it escalated to a big fight."

Preventing future problems

After closing time Saturday, an off-duty SCMPD officer and a Chatham County sheriff's deputy made several of the youngsters stand along a fence to wait for their parents. A handful of teenagers walked down Mall Boulevard, while others waited at a bus stop.

Zapal said Star Castle and the patrons' parents should work together to prevent future problems.

"I'm a police officer, not a businessman," Zapal said.

"But the kids who didn't have their parents there to pick them up should not be allowed to come back. But then it becomes a money thing."

Siskin did not return a message left at his residence Saturday. But a letter to the editor from the Star Castle published in Friday's Savannah Morning News stated that security officers there ban patrons all the time.

Siskin speculated that the adolescents police have pointed out are not allowed inside his business anymore.

"We are one of the few businesses in this city willing to provide something for teens to do," Siskin wrote.

"Serving the teen demographic is challenging because of the problems the 'bad apples' create."

Bolden said her daughter won't hang out at the Star Castle again, and she estimates some parents have adopted the same stance.

"She won't ever be back," Bolden said. "It's not the kids that don't want to go back. There are a lot of mixed emotions, but everyone thinks it's ridiculous."

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